Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Up and Running

Are you ready to get "Up and Running?" Saturdays C&O Canal run was a hit! The weather was perfect and the runners had a great morning...definitely worth getting "up" and "running!" Come join us on Saturdays this summer for fantastic runs at Burke Lake, The Battlefield, WO&D, Bull Run and other super places for your running pleasure.

Do you want to run and play? It is time to do both! How about joining the Run Club (singlets, shirts and all) for the Ashburn Twilight 4 miler Run? They have a great band afterwards with super activities to bring in the summer on June 28th! http://www.potomacriverrunning.com/frames.asp We are thinking about going to dinner afterwards too! If you are interested in joining in with us for our summer social, let me know!

Tonight is track night at Centreville High School. If it is raining cats and dogs with thunder and lightening, meet us at the club at 7 pm on the treadmills. I will see if we can join the Cardio2 group again!

This Saturday, we will be back at Burke Lake at our usual time, 7 am/8am. If you want to run at 10-12 minute pace, you are in luck. Right now, the majority of our runners are hitting that pace. It is a perfect time to come out! Let me know if you are coming so we can match paces!

Remember, run club is free! Pass the word along. And if you don't mind (again), let me know what size, type (gray, Reindeer Run Long sleeve-maroon or sage green) of shirt you need if you haven't yet received yours...or you just want another.

We are gearing up our training programs. They are going to be awesome this year! The Run Club program is moving to the PT department so we will have some great support. We are planning some amazing clinics too. More to come on this subject in the next few weeks!

Running tip of the week: "Try filling the wasted minutes with running. Get up a little earlier in the morning. Turn off the TV a little later in the evening. Substitute a run for lunch. Don't wait for running time to open up. Make time."

Now go and Run!

Heather

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Where is Everybody?

I know where I have been...where are the rest of you?! The weather is perfect right now for getting out there and running! Before you know it, temperatures will be in the 90's and humidity will be murking up the air.


I would love to hear from each of you! Let me know what you have been doing. Are you running? Are you biking? Do you plan on running any races this summer/fall!? Send me a quick email.

My update:


I had a bone scan on Friday. The doctor wanted to see what exactly was going on with my heel since the pain is persisting. If indeed it is fractured, I will most likely be in a cast (to prevent any weight bearing activities...like living my life) or a boot. I will let you know the outcome after my appt. this Friday. I am hoping I am up and running within a few more weeks. In the meantime, I am currently spinning (I had a fun ride with Mike and Dan on Monday night), swimming and boring myself on the eliptical.





Join us this week on Tuesday at 7 pm for a run starting at Centreville High School. The track is available! I plan on coming.

Or if you can't make that, plan on running with us on Saturday! Word on the street is we are running the beautiful C&O canal! More details will be forthcoming.



Don't forget about this great race! The "We've Got Your Back 4 miler." Check out the website: http://www.spinerf.org/. This is sponsered by Joel's company! Come support a great cause.

Running tip of the week: "Remember the rule: endurance first, speed later. You pick up much of your speed not by training fast but by increasing your staying power. You can't do much more than sharpen up the speed you were born with, but you can train yourself not to poop out so soon when you're going fast if you practice at distances a lot longer than a mile."

Now go and run!

Heather

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!

To all Mother's and those that help "mother," Happy Mother's Day! May you brunch, accept flowers, take a needed nap, refrain from housework, have a dinner prepared by someone other than yourself with the knowledge...Job well done!

I haven't heard how Saturday's run went at Burke this morning. I am sure it was muddled and mucky. I am so sorry I was unable to be there! I am afraid I won't be able to run for at least 6 weeks. You see, I haven fallen victim to the dreaded, stress fracture. What exactly is a stress fracture?


Bodyworks: Stress Fractures
By Patrick Milroy
How to recognise them, how to overcome them


Because stress fractures of the calcaneus (heel bone) and tibia and fibula (lower-leg bones) share similar symptoms, investigations and treatments, we're grouping them together here.

Symptoms: As with all stress fractures, you'll feel crescendo pain, which grows in intensity the longer and further you run, probably reaching an intolerable peak just before you stop. In the textbook case, the pain comes on sooner and more severely with each successive run.

Signs: It's important that your GP listens to your description, for there is often little to feel at the site of the fracture. A 'pinch test' can confirm a stress fracture of the calcaneus (heel bone) earlier than you'd be able to feel the swelling of healing callus in the tibia or fibula.

Medical investigations: An x-ray may not reveal the early stages of a stress fracture, so an ultrasound test or scan is a better option. This can be particularly useful for headstrong athletes who may continue to run through the pain and tenderness until the bone snaps completely.

What else could it be?A variety of illnesses, infections or even growths can cause bone pain - various tests can confirm or eliminate the possibility of their existence.

Self-treatment: Rest! (This doesn't mean you shouldn't work out your cardiovascular system and the rest of your body with exercise that doesn't make the fracture hurt.)

Medical treatment: Despite your protests, your doctor will continue to emphasise the need to rest the fractured limb. If the fracture hasn't healed within six to eight weeks, they'll need to check that bony union is in fact occurring - if it's not, they may have to consider further measures, including surgery and bone grafting. On a positive note, a healed stress fracture is usually stronger than the original bone.

Can you run through it? No. Any runner who attempts to run through a proven stress fracture probably needs their head examined, as the chances of worsening the injury are so high.

Recovery time: A stress fracture usually recovers in half the time that a complete break of the same bone would, ie six to eight weeks.

I wanted to post this article from Runner's World so you can be aware if you start to show systems of a stress fracture. Marguerite just went through this (cast and everything) and is just getting back to running...slowly. I am actually okay with staying off the running for awhile because I know I need to heal this over worked body. I am excited to try new things, go back to old workouts (bike...yike, swim...bleck!), and get stronger.

I will be at the track as soon as we are able to utilize it. That way I can heckle you all everytime you come around. Dianne will be covering the Burke runs until I am able to get back to the distances. We are meeting at Centreville track this Tuesday as usual. Rumor has it, some of the run club members were running rather fast on Union Mill path last week.

Meet us for a Saturday run at Burke this Saturday at our 7 am/8am take off times.

Good Luck to those that are swimming, biking and running tomorrow in the Virginia Run Tri! Let us know all about it!

Good Luck to those that are running Life Time's Wild 5k at Bull Run.

By the way, could someone please send me some Run Club pictures?! Or pictures of you racing? Starbucking?! I need some photos for our blog.

Now go and RUN (and when you don't feel like it, be thankful you can and get your butt off the couch and do 5 for me)

Heather

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Liz and Dean Rocked!

Here is a great race report by Liz from their half marathon!

What an awesome race. Dean did his in 2:21 - and is now suffering from too much sun.

I went down to corral A - there was only about 200 people in there 90% males. So I spoke to the volunteer there and she said I could go where ever I wanted to start. So I moved back to B and asked several people what they thought their finish time would be they were saying 1 hour 30 - 45 mins. So I move back again to corral C and decided to stay there. We actually got to run to the start line - there was no pushing or jostling and plenty of room for everyone. The race was the best organized half I have been to which is impressive as it is claimed to be the largest half in the USA with 35,000 signed up - last year 29,000 completed the race. The weather was so still with no breeze start temp 60of but with 90% humidity - I would have liked a breeze. The run around the speadway track was fantastic they had screens up there so we could watch people at the front of the race. The music - there was mu sic all the way you could hear the next band before you finished hearing the one before. The water and gatorade was at every half mile, I guess they are used to running in high humidity.


My time 2 hours 6mins and 17 seconds, 81st in my age group. I still dont know how many were in my age goup but last year they had 1300 so we will see.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Cross Train Pain

As many of you know, I am addicted to running. Don't deny it, I know you are too! Anyway, after the Boston Marathon two weeks ago, I took a week off to recover (that is a long time for me). My heel has been hurting a great deal (more than ever...I have been dealing with PF for years now) and after an easy 3 mile run this week, I had to turn back to home due to this heel pain. It has not gotten any better (and I repeat, I have only run that one, 3 miler in 14 days) even with stretching, icing and no high impact exercising.

I went to the doctor finally yesterday cause things just didn't seem right and he thinks it might be a stress fracture! I will be looking into that possibility this week. In the mean time, I have to stay off it as much as possible and participate in my all time favorite back up (not!) CROSS TRAINING activities! Anyone spinning this week?! Anyone swimming?! Let me know and I will join you.

Because of doctor's orders, I will not be at Run Club for the next few weeks. Dianne has things completely under control. If you have any questions about this week's runs...let me know.

Tuesday we will be meeting at Centreville Track at 7 pm.
Saturday we will be at Burke at 7 am/8am.

Our dear Mary fell at Burke today. She is currently carrying precious cargo so she decided to get checked out at the hospital. She wanted to let everyone know that she and baby boy Kusler are doing just fine. She doesn't have to give up her crazy addiction but needs to stay clear of trails that have snakes, roots and other threatening conditions (I think we are all considered non-threatening). Thank you to Flossie, Joel, Dianne and Dan for their support during the ordeal.

Wanna Race? Did you sign up for the Marine Corp Marathon?! Too long of distance? They have just reopened the Marine Corp Half marathon for more runners (it is in mid May). Too long still? How about Life Time's Run Wild 5k at Bull Run Park?! It is on Mother's Day morning...a beautiful race for all abilities and all ages! There is the Spine 4 miler as well. If you want any details about these races...just shoot me an email (heytar@comcast.net).

Wanna Learn More?

A great opportunity for all RUNNERS!
Beginners, Experts, Triathletes, Adventure Racers, Endurance Athletes
Want a faster time? Want to be injury free? Want to be stronger? Want to run longer distances? Want a better running technique?

Saturday, May 10th from 9-11am, Coach Al Lyman from Connecticut will be giving a Running Clinic at the Virginia Run Clubhouse in Centreville, VA. The clinic is for all types of runners.

What is it? The clinic will cover the basic elements of good running form and technique, as well as how Functional and Core Strength and Hip Mobility and Elasticity play a critical role in achieving powerful, fast, injury-free running. As time allows, Coach Al will give recommendations for optimal warm-up drills, flexibility training, and running-specific functional and core strength exercises from his program, Runner-CORE (http://runner-core.com ). Coach Al is a coach and presenter on a national level. He is very forward thinking in regards to running technique; and is a former 2:30 marathoner. His story is interesting in that when he started running he couldn’t complete a mile. He ended up completing 19 consecutive marathons in sub 3 hours! He believes if you fix your hip range and core strength, the run technique will follow.

Following are comments made by Vinu Malik – President / Founder & CEO Fuelbelt - after attending a clinic with Coach Al. Vinu is a 25x Ironman with a number of Kona appearances via qualification – not the corporate route! His remarks:

"Al is an outstanding resource and you would really be missing out if you don't take advantage of this opportunity. He's helped me figure out my recent injury which kept me on the sidelines at Boston this year. The good news is that the same constructive advice will be applied to my training program with a firm goal of qualifying for Hawaii. If you have the time, be there. It is time well spent." --- VinuVinu Malik President & Founder Fuel Belt, Inc.

Clinic fee is only $35 and participation is limited to 35 people. Proceeds from the clinic will benefit Virginia Special Olympics
Please email: lj@finswheelsfeet.com to reserve your space.

Wanna Bike?

Roger and friends are organizing a Memorial Day bike ride on the WO&D trail. For more information, email me and I will forward to Roger.

Running tip of the Week:

"You can't run hard and fast until you can run easy and slow. Always be sure you can run a distance easily before you think about racing it."

Now Go and RUN (wish I could)!

Heather